Black-crowned Night Heron, Walsingham Park, Largo, Florida April 2020

Near nightfall the aptly named, Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), takes over for its egret and heron cousins on the daytime crew. This crepuscular bird ambush hunts at the edge of shallow water and has even been known to use tools, tossing in small objects to bait fish into coming closer.

They are short and stocky in comparison and possibly not as flashy looking as their relatives (why bother, when you’re mostly active at night?) but I think they are quite dignified looking.